1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to audio processing and more specifically to reducing noise in electronic systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
Unless otherwise indicated herein, the approaches described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
The continued trend in integrated circuit (IC) technology is to increase operating frequencies, data transfer rates, and the average number of transistors per IC, while decreasing IC package sizes. Unfortunately, the rising power density of the ICs results in higher operating temperatures of each IC. As electronic systems include a growing number of ICs to perform ever-increasing complex functions, the aggregated heat dissipation from the ICs can be significant.
A common approach to address the high operating temperatures within these electronic systems is to use fans and air ducts to provide airflow over the heat-generating ICs. Heat is transferred to the air as it flows over the ICs, thus cooling the ICs. Another approach is to transport a reservoir of liquid (e.g., water) to heat spreaders that are connected to the heat-generating ICs. Heat is then transferred to the liquid within the heat spreader, and the liquid circulates back to the reservoir where the heat is dissipated.
However, these cooling approaches generate noises at levels that sometimes can be irritating to the users of the electronic systems. For example, fans typically vibrate due to mass imbalance in their rotors, and air ducts also vibrate when air flows at certain velocities. Such vibration causes sound to be produced. As for a liquid cooling system, sound is mainly generated from operating the pump to circulate the liquid.
As the foregoing illustrates, what is needed in the art is a way to reduce the noises generated by the subsystems used to cool electronic systems.